Legacy of a Filipina, a new novel by Charles Au Lavoie, examines the divide between these Filipinos and North Americans.

In the Philippines, one out of every three households has a family member who lives and works overseas. More than 660,000 Filipinos work in Canada; three million work in the United States.

The three main characters are Carmelita Tauber, the matriarch of her Filipino community; George Miller, a Canadian writer who is pulled into Carmelita’s orbit; and Carmelita’s nephew Marty Pua, who travels to the Philippines to look for his roots after a failed love affair.

Miller’s fascination with the Filipinos leads him from Canada’s West Coast to Honolulu and the Philippines. Legacy of a Filipina explores the immigrant experience.

Charles Au Lavoie worked as a commercial translator, and as a computer consultant. He has a doctorate in Spanish philosophy. He is also a playwright and essayist, with works published in French and English.